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I think there would be more interest if this rep were a substantial improvement over the last batch of quartz Monacos:

Blue Wednesday:

Looks like a 1950s Seamaster, based on the dial details and overall design. Here's a similar looking one: Scroll halfway down this page to the "OMEGA SEMASTER" (sic).

Saved by one of the greats. Thanks, ubi!

I lost this screw (circled in red) a couple of months ago. I squeezed the tweezers a little too hard and it flew into eternity, never to be seen again. How do I order a replacement? Does it have a specific ETA part number or a generic identifier? Do I have to buy a bag of assorted watch screws?

Lani: I'd misread your original post and thought you'd used an NDT dial. Yuki prices are more manageable, but I don't think I'll get one until I've got a better case to put it in. Slartibartfast: If you're ever planning another batch of homemade dials, do drop me a line!

It's utterly gorgeous on the riveted, Lani. My one nit about your watch is that the springbars you've used are too long, causing the ends of the pivots to poke out of the lugholes. Although you will find gens being sold with this look, the bars ought to be shorter and the bar tips should be recessed. Visually, I'd say you've got the best 1016 rep around. Stilty gets extra points for his thorough modding of the movement and for being two years ahead of the curve, but that great MBK case makes yours very, very difficult to distinguish from the gens. Marvelous work.

In honor of Lani's spectacular 1016:

Great to hear. I look forward to being overcome with jealousy!

By the way, did you or The Zigmeister have much problems fitting the NDT dial on the ETA (?) movement? It looks like all the aftermarket dials (NDT and Yuki) are made with Rolex movements in mind. Should I ever decide to revisit the 1016, those dials in an MBW or Yuki case might be the way to go. But when I consider the potential cost, I seriously think about saving for a gen!

Absolutely beautiful, Lani. What a terrific dial you found, and first-class work all around! A Yuki 7206 may be a headache to fit; I'd love to see it on a folded-link bracelet. It looks great with a strap, regardless. Congratulations!

All those guys who joined those raffles are PRAYING that he moves onto lottery tickets. Congratulations, NORing! When you increased your Luck, did you have to reduce your Willpower or your Dexterity?

I'll be taking a quick vacation to Hong Kong next week, and I'd been planning a dash across the border to Shenzhen to meet with a certain Daytona dealer familiar to many of us. Unfortunately, those plans fell through earlier today, and I'm left holding a single-entry visa with no one to see. So, instead of Shenzhen, I've decided to take the longer train ride to get to Guangzhou aka 'The Happiest Place on Earth'. Half a day is a very short amount of time based on what I've read, though it's not my intention to go on a binge and buy every rep I've given a second glance. By the same token, I don't want to waste an afternoon being lost or pawing through candidates for the 'Worst-Looking Reps' thread. I understand that some of you who've been have had good experiences there when accompanied by a GZ-based dealer/guide. I'm reading many positive things about Angus of Puretime, but I would appreciate any guide recommendations from you Guangzhou pilgrims out there. I just hope I get there on a non-raidy day!

Option 6: Genuine 'Rolex of Geneva' 19mm leather strap: $60-100. (I rather like the honey brown ostrich and the black lizard.) Yuki tang buckle: $18. Say goodbye to your endlink headaches!

Ah... I'm a sucker for black 3/6/9 dials!

Haven't worn the Flieger '39 in a while, so it's back in rotation:

Coolfire: Is that the one and only Spinmaster DW with a vintagized dial? Looks great! I've always been curious about Spin's aging method, and why he won't do it again. Based on the info in gplracer's thread, and the earlier thread that freddy333 makes reference to... no. It's the auto-wind components that are subject to excessive wear during manual winding. Once these are excised (a step I haven't undertaken yet), the movement should be OK.

Can I call it the MkII Mini-Van?

Thanks for the encouragement. It isn't fun not being able to wear it while I wait for news about a replacement dial, but the project continues: -The used, gen 7836 adds a good amount of credibility to the whole package. The 361 endlinks aren't a snug fit, but they look just fine when the watch is on the wrist. Better springbars might help, as one of them has a loose pivot. -I have a genuine Tropic 21 on the way. I do like the dome of the Clark, so maybe I can use it for a future 6239/6241 project. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself! -Finally, I've smoothed out the razor-sharp edges of the case with an emery board. I may have overdone the lower-left lug (compare the above with pictures in my original post), but it does feel a lot nicer!

1016 again:

I'm thinking it's the MkII Vantage, because it's something I once considered getting. Really beautiful homage to the 1016, and it looks fantastic on leather!

It's a 42mm case, same as the old, big Super Compressors and reissues like the Polaris and, I presume, the Aquatimer Vintage. I'm hoping someone reps the Super Compressor case, since there are so many great divers that used it. At the very least, a Polaris rep would be nice, as I doubt I'll be able to afford one anytime soon! Here's a nice side-by-side from someone who owns the old and new Divers: If only IWC had been as faithful to the ref.1812 Aquatimer as JLC and Longines were to their old divers! Aside from the lack of a Plexiglas dome, Longines' only other noticeable deviation from the original is the hands: The hour hand is fine, but the minute hand is too straight and narrow, and the second hand is too thick. Oddly, all the official photos of the LLD show the old-style hands, yet every purchased example I've seen has hands like those on mine.

1016 for the first day:

It's 11:45PM on NYE over here, and the LLD is on my wrist as I type: But I'll come clean: I'm not actually wearing the depth gauge on my other wrist!

I will print that list out and bring it with me whenever I wear my Speedmaster. Then I will shove it in the face of anyone I see wearing a Movado.